Blockchain Wallet(Types, Uses, Installation) - Steemit Crypto Academy Season 4 - Homework Post for Task 9

Your cryptocurrency wallet is a password-protected digital vault that holds your money and varies with each cryptocurrency. However, if you lose this key, it's usually impossible to recover the funds. Therefore, you need to store this key in a secure place and make sure that nobody else has access to that key.

First of all, we must understand that if you lose or forget your wallet's password/key, the funds in this wallet are lost forever (unless someone can find your password). The same applies if someone stole your key and empties out your wallet. I personally like to store my keys

1. In a password manager (e.g., KeePass or LastPass)
2. In a 2-factor encrypted USB stick
3. In a paper wallet
4. In a cold storage device (i.e., offline wallet)

Private key is a form of encryption that has two parts. One part is the public key that is shared with everyone, this data can be decoded using the private key. Private keys are used in Cryptography to ensure the authenticity of a message, by verifying that its sender must have access to their own secret private key. Private keys are of different types that include: Private Key(A string of alphanumeric characters) Mnemonic key(Seed) Keystore file(JSON File)

A Private key is a 256 or 512 bit string of alphanumeric characters. To make it easier to operate, private keys are usually grouped into pairs, each with their public key.
These keys are unique to each user and when entered correctly will give user access to their account.

There are several ways to secure private keys. Private keys can be stored locally on a hard drive or on a paper wallet. In either case, the key will need to be backed up for future use. Private keys can also be stored in an encrypted digital wallet that is maintained by a third party.

Other form of the Private key is a Mnemonic seed .

A mnemonic seed is a set of words related to a private key. A mnemonic seed is a form of a private key that only the holder knows. Mnemonic seeds are used for generating new keys. Mnemonic seeds can be used to generate encryption keys that are then used to encrypt and decrypt different data.

One example on a Mnemonic key is seen in our TronLink wallet. A user can create a 12 word mnemonic seed. That seed is like a private key, but since it is only 12 words, its security is far more lower than that of other private keys.
This makes it very useful for saving small amounts of cryptocurrency for everyday transactions. However, the main problem with mnemonic seeds is that if someone discovers your end phrase (your mnemonic seed) they have all the information needed to access your funds.

Lastly private keys are stored as the JSON File. Keystores is a file that stores all of your private keys. Keystores make it easy to share and manage multiple accounts and sign transactions. It is like a person having multiple bank accounts and storing all of their passwords and numbers in one wallet. The wallet acts as an interface, allowing the user to access the individual accounts.

To install the Google Chrome extention for TronLink wallet i visited Chrome webstore ,there i searched for TronLink Wallet extension in the search bar.

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Click on the Add to Chrome button and this will ask for a confirmation message when clicked on Add to chrome this will download a file for extension. And the extension will be shown in the list of Google Chrome extension.

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Below is the image of TronWallet link added in the Google chrome's extension.

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To store my keys i get there hard copies, and save them at a safe place. For example i have my Mnemonic key stored in my google drive and also written in a page. I also make arrows and little guidelines for myself so that i do not forget. But these are very clear in their own.

Mnemonics on this page are all imaginary and do not belong to a real account
The copy of these Mnemonics is saved as a text file where all the 12 are written in a top-down approach.

My TronLink wallet is protected by a simple password, this password is of my own choice and when i need to login i enter my password here.
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